The Best Option
by John Reese
Summary: Starts off at the end of the series finale. Details the adventures of Team Machine in a post-Samaritan world. Warning: will contain spoilers of the TV show. Updates will be random however I will add several chapters in late December for Christmas!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Author's Note: This is my first fanfic and I am just learning how to write stories like this. I would love everyone's feedback and I will read every single review. I will try to update this every day or so.**

[Accessing Options]

[Displaying Simulation 151175]

[Option Selected]

"Oh, and John one more thing, in ten seconds get to the edge of the buil... build... building to your... left..."

"Why?" said John with what could be his last breath.

"Survival," said The Machine.

"Goodbye," said Harold to his most valued creation.

[Initiating Audio Protocol]

John dragged himself to the edge of the building while being shot at by three of Samaritan's pawns. He looked out and could see the missile coming straight at the building and realized The Machine's final plan. The Machine had made a deal with John to let him sacrifice his life for Harold but never said there was no way out. As he waited for the missile to destroy the building he wondered if Shaw and Fusco survived the onslaught of Samaritan's men that were headed towards the Subway.

The missile struck the building destroying the top seven floors of the building but the missile also sent John flying to the rooftop that Finch was just on.

~POI~

"The upper floors of the building are completely destroyed. Some of the surrounding buildings have also sustained damage. Hold on, there is a man on one of the surrounding rooftops, he's bleeding out. We need a to get him stabilized and airlifted out of this carnage," said one of the medical personnel.

"We're going down, just hope he's not already dead," said the helicopter pilot.

The medical workers are amazed that the victim has multiple GSWs but only minimal damage from the missile strike. They bandage his wounds the best they can which isn't that good because of how many injuries he's got.

"We're bringing in a live one with multiple GSWs to the chest, ETA five minutes."

"Roger that" said the hospital nurse.

~POI~

After many hours of surgery and removing bullets from John Doe's chest and limbs, the doctors are surprised that he is still alive. John Doe became widely talked about amongst the hospital staff for not only surviving the missile strike but also the six GSWs to his chest and one GSW into each of his right arm and right leg.

Four days after the emergency surgeries the mystery man wakes up for the first time and starts wondering what happened. It was just his luck that he was assigned to the care of a nurse who didn't like to beat around the bush.

"Excuse me, what happened to me?" said John.

"Well, you were struck by a missile and got shot over half of a dozen times," said the nurse, completely disregarding the look of shock from her patient..

"What?!" said John in utter disbelief that he survived.

"The missile somehow flung your body off the building and onto a neighboring rooftop," said Doctor Selepoh. He glanced disapprovingly at the nurse, who simply rolled her eyes in response while he added "After probably another week or two you will be free to leave because other than a severe loss of blood most of your injuries weren't life threatening."

"Ok, thank you doctor for fixing me up," said John while he was starting to relax. His relaxation was mostly in part from the painkillers that the Doctor had given him. He was willing to bet they'd given him morphine; he didn't quite feel like himself, but it felt extremely pleasant…when the walls weren't swirling into a crazy mess.

"Just get the nurse to send for me if you are having any trouble," said Doctor Selepoh comfortingly.

John drifted away into a deep slumber which was useful for his damaged body.

~POI~

It's another normal day for Fusco if that consists of getting looked at by Internal Affairs, working on homicide cases, and waiting for the world to become stabilized after the effects of the ICE-9 virus. Suddenly, Fusco gets another unexpected surprise when his phone rings and caller ID says the number is Blocked.

"What do you want now?" says a grumpy Fusco.

"Lionel, must you always be my grumpiest asset?" said Big Sister.

"Ok I'll work on it Cocoa Puffs, what do you need from me today?"

"I need you to transfer a prisoner from your old Precinct, the 51st."

"Ok who is the guy and what did he do?"

"They are an asset, and the rest you get to find out later."

"Of course, working in mysterious ways just like..."

Fusco groans in disapproval of The Machine's "find out later" policy. He has begun to accept little side missions from the Machine even though he has far fewer than he did when he used to assist Harold and John.

~POI~

John wakes up after having multiple memories appear in his dreams. A lot of his memories are still fuzzy and he can't remember a lot but the person he sees before him, he recognizes.

"Hey John," said his old friend.

"Zoe, how did you find me?" said the confused John.

"I got an anonymous call and it told me to come to this hospital room."

"Was the anonymous caller a woman's voice?"

"Yes, why would that be important?"

"We actually did it, and she's still out there watching over us."

"What are you talking about?" asked Zoe.

John is a bit reluctant but decides that if The Machine trusts her then he might as well let her know about everything. John explains as much about The Machine, Harold, and the numbers as he remembers. Zoe is completely baffled but believes most of what John said. The next thing that John remembers is that he is now a free man no longer in need of hiding from Samaritan's forces.

~POI~


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Ugh, stupid criminals," says Shaw as she walks away from a group of men lying on the ground groaning.

Shaw gets a phone call from the Machine with her next mission.

"Hello sweetie," says the Machine in Root's charismatic tone.

"Who do I get to save next? Street thug? Cheating spouse? Ooh or maybe even a stock broker?" says Shaw who was once interested in placing bets on the people they had to save.

"This time the threat is closer to home."

"What do you mean? Is Fusco in trouble?"

"No, he's not the asset in trouble, this time the victim is Zoe Morgan."

"Wow, I haven't seen her in a while, where is she?"

"I'll tell you on the way, just get in a car."

Shaw breaks into the car of one of the men she just beat up and starts driving to The Machine's mystery destination.

~POI~

John and Zoe discussed the events of the last few years which helped assure John that he was indeed alive and safe. Zoe was glad that John finally opened up to her with the truth about how he and Harold had been saving people, but was none the less concerned about what happened to Harold.

"Thanks for talking with me about the last few years, Zoe," said John.

"I enjoyed it too but it was nothing that I could have expected." remarked Zoe.

Right as Zoe was about to leave they both hear gunshots in the hall. Someone is walking towards John's hospital room as Zoe pulls out a gun and aims at the door. Shaw opens the door as her jaw drops when she sees John.

"John?" asked Shaw completely surprised.

"Shaw, you made it past Samaritan's goons," said John cheerfully.

"I thought you got killed by the missile."

"I was literally blown off that building by the missile, but what are you doing here?"

"I got a new assignment from The Machine, I was told to come here and save Zoe," said Shaw.

"Who was after me?" asked Zoe.

"It turns out that Samaritan had a contingency plan with agents trying to kill us and they just found John, which means that it is time to move," explained Shaw.

Zoe and Shaw helped John out of the bed only to find that he was unable to walk. They found him a wheelchair and escaped the hospital just as the police were arriving to investigate several calls about gunshots.

~POI~

Fusco arrived at the 51st Precinct to do the prisoner transfer for The Machine. He walked into the precinct to pick up a prisoner that The Machine just told him about.

"Hello, I'm Detective Fusco, here to transfer a prisoner back to the 8th precinct in relation to one of my cases."

"Ok, I'll need the name of the prisoner that you want to transfer," said the Officer

"The prisoner's name is Joey Datcher," Detective Fusco replied.

"Ok, Detective the prisoner will be brought right up."

Fusco waited impatiently as he worried about being caught even though The Machine's amount of power has increased since the defeat of Samaritan. When the prisoner was brought to Fusco, he recognized that it was Joey Durban. Fusco remembered that Joey had been working for The Machine in Washington D.C. right before Samaritan's demise. They were both headed to Fusco's car when all of a sudden there was an explosion from inside the police precinct. Lionel and Joey ran back into the chaos of the precinct.

~POI~

Shaw drove Zoe and John to her apartment which was the only place they could be safe. John almost immediately fell asleep after laying down while Shaw and Zoe discussed The Machine's role in helping people. While John was sleeping he mumbled "pay you back all at once," which got the attention of his friends. After a few hours, John woke up hurting from his wounds. Shaw gave him some painkillers that she had in one of the few drawers in her barren apartment.

"John, while you were sleeping, you mumbled "pay you back all at once," what does this mean?" Zoe asked.

John looked stunned when he came to the realization that Harold was still alive out there somewhere.

"It was one of the last things I said to Harold."

"He died on the rooftop from the missile?" Shaw inquired.

"No, he had left, I tried to sacrifice myself but The Machine gave me an exit strategy anyway."

"So, Harold's out there somewhere with some of Samaritan's operatives searching for him?"

"We need to find him, now," John said concerningly.

"In your condition, you can't go anywhere," said Zoe interjectintly.

"At least we can start digging to find any clues on his where abouts," explained Shaw.

They started looking into Harold's common aliases which included Harold Finch, Harold Wren, and Harold Whistler. At first they could find nothing but then they remembered where Finch would go. The trio immediately started searching through flight records for the last few days and found what they expected. Harold had flown to go meet with Grace in Italy where the team sent her to keep her safe. After the excitement of finding him they realized that Samaritan's men could already be on there way to kill their dear friend.

~POI~


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The precinct didn't have much damage except for down in lock up. Someone planted a bomb in hopes of killing one of the prisoners. The bomb only killed one prisoner while wounding multiple others and a few cops. Lionel and Joey both knew who was the target of the bomb and that there would probably be another threat. Right after they knew that everything was under control they headed back to Fusco's car and started their journey to the eighth precinct. When they are halfway there Fusco gets another call from The Machine with instructions.

"Lionel, pull over right now," said The Machine in a frantic tone.

Lionel pulls over as instructed then gets out of the car as The Machine tells him to. Joey gets out and walks to Lionel on the other side of the car.

"Fusco, I'm sorry for this but it has to be as real as possible"

Fusco starts to say "What?" but gets knocked out by Joey before he can get even one word out. Joey gets in Fusco's car and drives off while receiving new instructions from The Machine.

~POI~

By the time Fusco makes it back to the precinct, some other cops are wondering where he has been but the peculiar part was that two agents from the NSA wanted to talk to him. They started to interrogate him and were asking him questions about The Machine and it's whereabouts. He could tell that they didn't work for the NSA because of how much they knew about him and his partners. Fusco tried not to answer their questions but after two hours he finally cracked and said something about The Machine to them.

"Look, I was driving a prisoner back to this precinct when The Machine tells me to get out of the car. The next thing I know I'm knocked out laying on the ground and the prisoner stole my car. I never get any information about what stupid errand I'm running or who I'm saving." Fusco angrily replied.

"So you knowingly transported a fugitive wanted by the United States Government in relation to several cases along with violating multiple public privacy laws by working with The Machine?" asked one of the NSA agents.

Fusco did not answer the man but that didn't make a difference. Lionel finally realized that his number had finally come up. John's words echoed "In the end, we're all alone and no one's coming to save you." As the NSA agents are bringing Fusco to their SUV many cops from the precinct stare at Fusco wondering what he did this time.

"We're halfway to the drop point, then we get our payday," one of the agents said excitedly.

"It was so easy to get this one, how was Samaritan never able to kill these people?" questioned the other agent.

Several gunshots are heard from a sniper on a nearby rooftop. Both of the operatives are killed by the sniper. A few seconds later the SUV is rammed and flipped over.

~POI~

While Fusco was being interrogated, The Machine started talking to Shaw in her earpiece. She had received another mission to save someone. As Shaw was leaving John asked who it was and when Shaw answered John insisted on coming along. Zoe and John went to the person's current location while Shaw went to where The Machine had instructed in order to rescue the victim.

"What the?" Shaw said confused at what she saw.

"What is going on?" asked Reese.

"It appears The Machine sent two people to save Fusco."

"What? Who else is there?" John asked Shaw through their earpieces.

"There is some young man helping Fusco out of the SUV."

"Weird, but we're on our way," said John as Zoe hailed a cab.

"Who is this other man? Why did you send me to help Fusco if you also sent him?" Shaw insisted an answer from The Machine.

"He is Joey Durban, an asset and someone John helped once. I sent both of you because of the possibility that one of you couldn't make it here because of Samaritan's contingency," replied The Machine.

"How close are they to finding us?"

"Not that close for you and John, but they are very close to capturing Joey and Lionel. Your chances have also decreased because of letting John and Zoe go to the precinct."

~POI~

Joey and Fusco fled the scene in Fusco's banged up car. Joey brought Fusco to an old library that had been turned into a safe house. As Lionel wandered around, Joey began to talk to The Machine in his earpiece.

The Machine decided that for now it would be best if Fusco didn't know about John's survival but he would need to find out eventually. Joey and Shaw both started receiving instructions from The Machine on what to do to avoid Samaritan's last few goons.

"Where should we go?" Shaw hurriedly asked as John and Zoe followed behind her.

The Machine quickly calculated the closest safe house to their location and told them the directions.

"Got a plan for us?" Joey asked as he grabbed another gun from a cabinet.

"Get loaded up and ready to move," The Machine commanded as if their chances were decreasing fast.

"Yea, we're getting ready." Shaw replied to The Machine.

"Zoe, grab some guns and then help me move John," Shaw ordered as she reloaded her guns.

"Wait," said The Machine to Shaw as it said "Get ready," to Joey.

"Why?" Shaw mumbled as they were about to leave.

"Fusco, let's move," Joey called as he was walking to the door.

"Help is coming to you," The Machine informed Shaw while saying the exact opposite to Joey.

~POI~


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Joey's driving was erratic as Fusco tried to shoot at the car following them. They were halfway to The Machine's designated location but had an SUV right on their tail. Fusco's car was full of bullet holes while he only hit the SUV a couple of times. Joey motioned to the grenades that he had brought along and Fusco got the hint. He grabbed some and pulled the pins and threw them right after each other out the back window. The first two completely missed but then one hit a tire and the others blew up under the SUV. Now that the SUV tailing them was flipped over and in flames they slowed down.

Their comfort of safety didn't last long. Fusco's car ran out of gas so they had to walk the next twenty blocks to the safe house. This journey reminded Fusco of when Reese and Carter ran around the city trying to bring in Alonzo Quinn the head of HR. Then he remembered how that turned out and hoped they were going to be able to save whoever they were going to meet.

"Joey, I think they found us," Fusco shouted as a black SUV sped right towards them.

"Hurry, this way," Joey motioned as he received new directions from The Machine.

They ran down a few alleyways while shooting back at their enemies. Joey got shot in the stomach while they managed to take down three of Samaritan's operatives. After making sure they weren't being followed they proceeded to the safe house. Once there, Lionel's jaw dropped as he saw his old friend alive.

"Do I look that bad?" asked John jokingly.

Fusco was stunned for a few seconds but then he said "I thought you were blown to bits."

"Almost but I decided to stay alive to keep your life miserable," joked John. He started coughing after laughing which brought about concern from his friends. Other than some painkillers there was nothing that they could do to help him.

~POI~

Shaw started working on Joey's gunshot wound while Fusco and John talk about what went down on the day of the missile.

"So, you're getting instructions and missions from The Machine too?" Shaw asks Joey.

"It sent me to New York from Washington D.C. to assist you guys in staying alive and out of the reach of Samaritan's contingency." Joey explained.

"Why didn't it send you sooner?" Shaw asked angrily.

"Shaw, The Machine won't tell me."

They spend the night in the library safe house eating the canned food that is stored away. John and Joey take the two beds that are there while the others stand guard and sleep in chairs. In the morning they start to eat when The Machine notifies them that it is time to go. They look out the windows only to find that the operatives are there and calling for reinforcements.

~POI~

"It looks like they are all coming to get us this time." says John while grabbing a gun.

Shaw remarks "We've seen worse."

"At the stock exchange we had five but nobody was injured until the battle." Fusco reiterates.

"The Machine will get us out of here," Joey promised.

"Yeah, just like it saved Root and didn't let John get hit by a missile," exclaimed Shaw in sheer anger.

"She has done her best Shaw," explained Joey.

"Well, sometimes her best isn't good enough!" Shaw interrupts.

"We should get back to more pressing matters, like the assassins waiting outside," Zoe chimed in.

They all stared out the window at some of the last of Samaritan's goons. Their chance of survival had greatly increased since Samaritan's destruction. Team Machine had taken multiple hits from Samaritan over the past few months with the kidnapping of Shaw and death of Root. Even though the threat of Samaritan was almost eliminated there was still a large chance of failure for their escape.

~POI~

[Accessing options]

[Calculating escape routes]

[Multiple routes detected. Choosing best option]

[Contacting Assets]

They all gaze across the room as the phone on the counter rings. Fusco hurries to the phone and picks it up. The Machine wants everyone to have an earpiece in order to be able to contact each of them. After getting instructions from The Machine they grab their weapons and head out of the safe house into the hallway. They split up with Fusco and Zoe head down the stairwell while Shaw, John, and Joey take the elevator to the first floor.

Fusco and Zoe encounter multiple enemies in the stairwell. They shoot at them while gradually going back up the stairs. Fusco grabs a grenade that he took from the safe house and throws it down the stairs. The operatives scream and run for cover. Right after the grenade goes off Fusco realizes it was only a flashbang. He quickly runs down the stairs to attack the enemies.

Zoe follows Fusco while shooting at some of the armed men. They both make it to the lobby after fighting off the operatives.

Meanwhile, the elevator arrives at the lobby with an instant firefight ensuing. Shaw does a majority of the shooting while John and Joey are behind her on each side of the elevator. They are able to take out the operatives before Fusco and Zoe arrive at the lobby. The group grabbed some bigger guns from their enemies and headed out the door.

~POI~


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Author's Note: Thank you for everyone that has read my fanfic! Every single day I read every review and am glad that people take time to post something! I have got almost 400 views on this and I wasn't expecting anywhere near that! Anyways before you start reading this chapter I am glad to say that I will continue to post a chapter a day!**

There are more operatives waiting for them outside. Shaw and John easily shoot them in the kneecaps before the group steals two of their SUVs. Shaw, John, and Zoe are in the first SUV while Lionel and Joey are in the second. They follow The Machine's instructions while officers arrive to arrest Samaritan's operatives at the safe house.

"Follow these orders that I give each of you," The Machine commands each of them.

They all agree to do what The Machine wants.

"Joey, you go back to Washington to help Harper and Logan with some numbers. Zoe, you get back to fixing things for people. Lionel, go back to work at the precinct and help Zoe if she gets into trouble. Shaw and John, you two need to go Italy to make sure Harold is safe."

They all agree that this is the best way to help each other so they do as The Machine told them.

After a week, John and Shaw are getting ready to go the board the plane with Fusco, Joey, and Zoe all back to doing their normal jobs. Once in Italy they make their way to a hotel near where Harold and Grace are living. After they wake up in the morning they get ready to go meet Finch. Shaw goes alone at first and knocks on the door. Grace answers the door with a look of confusion for a moment.

"Do I know you? Wait you were working with Detective Stills," said the confused Grace.

"Yeah, is Harold here?" Shaw asks impatiently.

"Who is it?" Harold mumbles as he slowly walks to the door. He stands in complete shock as Grace lets Shaw in.

"How… Why did you find me?" Harold asks.

"Samaritan had a contingency where the agents get some sort of bounty if they kill us and they are after you."

"Of course, I should've predicted that such a powerful AI would have a failure plan," Harold remarks.

Harold and Shaw talk about the events of the last few months for over an hour while having to explain some things to Grace.

"I'll be back later today with something I need to show you," Shaw promises.

"Ok, Miss Shaw," Harold says as he closes the door.

Back at the hotel Shaw tells John about Harold and Grace. He wants to meet up with his old friend but isn't sure how he'll take it that he is alive. Mr. Reese rests for the majority of the day while Shaw checks around where Harold is living. Shaw finds no signs of any operatives after Harold or herself.

~POI~

Later that night John and Shaw get ready to go see Harold but before they leave the hotel John wonders if he should go see Harold.

"Shaw, he thinks I'm dead. What if this causes more problems?"

"You and Harold worked together for years helping people and he risked his life for you, he would be glad to see you alive," Shaw reassured John.

Shaw led John through the town to Harold and Grace's apartment. John looked at Shaw and remembered how she had lost Root a few weeks ago. He knew at that moment that Shaw was right, Harold would be glad to see him. Shaw knocked on the door and when Harold opened the door he was shocked again.

"Hello Harold," John said in his monotone voice.

Harold stood in awe as he saw his friend that he had believed was dead. He was at a total loss for words and couldn't even gather himself to tell them to come in. Harold finally gestured for them to come in and they all sat down in the living room.

"How? How did you survive?"

"Your Machine, Harold."

"I saw you getting shot and then the missile struck," Harold asks as if he were arguing that John was really dead.

"The missile blew me off the roof and I woke up in a hospital, after that all hell broke lose when Shaw showed up," joked John.

"I came to save you and I did, The Machine has never said anything about destroying things in the process," Shaw said as she gave John a little smirk.

"What about Fusco? Did he make it?" Harold asks, concerned.

"He's fine, working at the precinct and taking care of Bear for now."

They talked for hours about the last few months, their futures, and how they all met. Grace was there but didn't get to talk much because she never went through what they had. Shaw and John asked Harold to come back and work with them but he wasn't so sure about it. He agreed that he might come back into contact with The Machine sometime down the road. At the end of the night John and Shaw went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

A couple of days later Shaw and John headed back to New York. They had spent most of their time there with Harold and Grace. They only encountered two of Samaritan's operatives which they easily took care of. John had hoped for Harold to come back and help them with the numbers but it wasn't going to happen, at least not now. He was glad that Harold agreed to help them sometime in the future.

~POI~

Back in New York, John had to rest up for a little over a week but that didn't stop him from helping people. He helped Shaw with some numbers but he couldn't help too much because he was still very sore from getting tossed from the rooftop like a crash test dummy.

Shaw liked that The Machine was more open now so there was less time spent on each number. However, it also took a lot of the suspense and mystery out of each case. She had a feeling that her latest number was more mysterious than the other people she's helped lately. Her newest number was different even before she saw him. Shaw received a set of GPS coordinates via a text from Thornhill. Once Shaw arrived at the coordinates there was only one man there and he was trying to call someone but he quickly started running.

Shaw pursued the mysterious man and once she caught up with him he swung at her. The man and Shaw fought until Shaw pinned him to the ground.

"Who are you and what is going on?" Shaw questioned the man.

"You aren't one of them?"

"One of whom?" Shaw asked angrily as she was losing her patience.

"One of Decima's agents," the man quickly answered.

Shaw quickly pulled the man to his feet and brought him with her. It was clear to Shaw that this man was a victim but wasn't sure how Decima still existed and why they wanted him dead. They hurried down the street and after walking a few blocks John pulled up in an SUV.

"I was in the neighborhood," he said as he chuckled.

"Get in!" Shaw instructed.

John drove them back to their new safe house which was similar to their original. It was an upscale nicely furnished apartment with very good security as if Harold had designed this one too.

~POI~


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 ** **Author's Note: I am looking for a Beta reader to read over my work and help me become a better writer. If you are a Beta or know a Beta reader that could help me please private message me. If there are any grammar, spelling, or story errors please let me know! I read every single review and look forward to new reviews each day! Thank you for your support bringing me to over five hundred and fifty views!****

"Why does Decima want you dead?" John asked the man.

"I was one of their agents and disobeyed orders."

"What orders did you disobey?" Shaw glances at the man like he sounded boring.

"A day or two before the missile strike, Decima sent a team of agents after a target. The target was a woman and we were supposed to kill her but after she beat up the other three agents I just surrendered. Instead of killing any of us she just ran away." the man explained to Shaw and John.

"Who was this woman?" Shaw demanded the man to answer.

"She had multiple aliases but she had wavy brown hair."

"That's gotta be Root!" Shaw whispered into John's ear.

"Shaw, Root is dead," he whispered.

"Was this lady wearing a leather jacket?" Shaw asked as she quickly turned from John to the mystery man.

"I think so... yeah, she was."

"It's Root. I don't know how but I know it's her!" Shaw exclaimed to John.

"Shaw, don't get your hopes up. Let's just find what else this guy knows."

"What is your name?" John asked the man.

"My name is Brandon Van' Durs."

"Ok, do you have any information about this woman you let go?" Shaw persistently asked.

"Not really, but I remember seeing you two before."

"We don't know you, Brandon," John reassured the man.

"Oh my gosh, that's it! You two are Decima's targets that were associated with that woman."

"It has got to be Root!" Shaw exclaimed.

"This is the perfect way out, if I capture you guys then Decima will quit going after me!"

The man reached for his gun but John and Shaw reached their guns first. Brandon dove out the window and landed on the ground two stories down. John looked out the window as Brandon got up and started to run away.

"So now we have to protect a guy who is trying to get us killed?!" exclaimed Shaw angrily.

~POI~

They easily pursued Brandon since they had placed a tracker on him. They followed him to a warehouse which they assumed was Decima's final base of operations. There were multiple agents standing guard outside the facility. The best plan for John and Shaw was to head back to get more gear so they could destroy Decima once and for all. Back at the safe house they loaded up as much gear and weapons as they could. In the back of their SUV they had machine guns, grenades, and C4.

Before they left the safe house one group of operatives showed up. They took them down and got ready to destroy their enemies' contingency plan. Once they arrived at Decima's HQ they grabbed their weapons and headed toward the facility. They snuck around nearby and took out the guards on one side of the building. In order to not alert the operatives inside, they had to fight in hand to hand combat. After multiple successful kicks and punches John had his guard in a headlock. Shaw on the other hand walked up and hit the other guy in the back of the head, instantly knocking him out.

~POI~

They planted the C4 on the side of the building then made their way to the opposite side of the building. After another fight with some guards they got ready to put their plan into action. The C4 blew a huge hole in the side of the building getting everyone's attention on the inside. They all grabbed their weapons and aimed at the gaping hole. Shooting started coming from behind the operatives but by the time they realized what was going on half a dozen of them were already down.

John shot smoke grenades toward the operatives. Shaw and himself put on their night vision gear to see their enemies. They were making steady progress at taking down the enemies when they noticed a group of men trying to escape.

"He must be in charge. I'm going after him!" Shaw stated before she took off towards the man.

John covered her while she made her way through the warehouse. Once she got close to the man she shot all of the other men that were with him. Shaw approached the man while his bodyguards laid on the ground moaning.

"Where is Root?" She asked as she threw the man to the floor and pointed a gun at his face.

~POI~


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

John had finished taking out the other operatives and headed towards Shaw. She had taken out a bunch of other operatives and had her gun drawn on a man. Shaw had clearly hit the man several times because his nose had blood dripping from it.

"Where is Root? Is she still alive?" Shaw shouted at the man.

"You think he has some answers?" John asked as he approached.

"He had bodyguards so he's got to be in charge!" Shaw exclaimed as she shook her gun in the man's face.

John and Shaw interrogated the man and did get some answers. Through the interrogation they did slightly torture him. Shaw mostly punched the man while John played good cop. The man didn't tell them much other than that the woman fitting Root's description had not been captured. However they did get one clue, that she was last seen three days after the missile strike in the abandoned subway base.

"She's still out there!" exclaimed Shaw.

"That was over two weeks ago though," John pointed out.

"She has to be alive! I'm going to find her!" exclaimed Shaw in complete determination.

As they were about to leave the warehouse John got a text from The Machine. The text directed them to a room inside of the warehouse. After they opened the door they saw Brandon, the man who turned on them. Regardless of how evil he was, The Machine had sent John and Shaw to make sure that he stayed alive.

~POI~

After freeing Brandon and allowing him to flee the warehouse, John and Shaw stocked up on weapons. They grabbed a bunch of guns and got out of there before the cops showed up. Shaw knew that they had finally finished off Decima once and for all. Instantly she turned all of her energy into looking for Root. They drove straight to the subway and searched it for clues. Root of course had left a clue in case they were to come looking for her. On a small piece of paper in Root's neat cursive was written "We were a full team like it was meant to be." They had no idea what it meant so they headed back to Shaw's new apartment and unloaded their weapons.

The next morning when Shaw woke up she realized what the clue meant. She got dressed and headed to the location that the clue lead to. Once she arrived at the spot where they all stood two months prior she was flooded with awful memories of thinking that everyone died. Once she collected herself she looked around and found something taped under a bench. Shaw opened the envelope to find a handwritten note from Root.

Dear Sameen,

I am sorry that I had to make you think that I was dead. It was The Machine's only way to save me and luckily I made it out alive. It's been four days since Samaritan was taken offline. The Machine won't tell me exactly what happened or where you are but she assured me that we would get to be together. Sweetie, ask The Machine where to find me.

See you soon,

Root

~POI~

"Where is Root?" Shaw shouted to The Machine.

There was no answer from the AI. Shaw got more frustrated and became more impatient.

"Tell me where Root is right now!" she yelled at the camera.

Shaw pulled out her gun and stared straight into the camera.

"If you won't let me be with Root then I won't be here at all!" she exclaimed.

Shaw's phone began to buzz. She lowered her weapon and pulled out her phone. Shaw had received numerous texts. It was obvious to her that most of them were new numbers except one text was GPS coordinates and another was a time. She went back to her apartment where she decoded the new numbers.

"Hey," Shaw said to John who had just woken up.

"Did you get some new numbers?" John asked curiously.

"Yeah, a bunch of them along with GPS coordinates and a time," Shaw explained quickly so she could continue researching the new numbers.

"So what puts over a dozen people in danger at the same time and place?" John said as he expected only one possible answer.

"Most likely a terrorist attack or something similar."

"Yes but the real question is why are you so interested?" John inquired.

"I asked The Machine for help finding Root and it sent me the numbers."

John finally realized what was going on. There was going to be a terrorist attack but Root was sent to stop it and Shaw is being sent to find Root at that location. He hoped that Root was still alive but wasn't sure how she could be since Fusco had seen her body. Instead of arguing with Shaw again he decided to go along with her plan to prevent the attack and find Root.

~POI~


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Author's Note: I will not be able to update this story until after August 15th. I have gotten busy but when I start updating again there will be some great chapters! I have a great storyline in mind and will spend some time thinking it through for the next two weeks while I work on other things. If you guys and gals really love this story please be sure to review it with your thoughts and opinions since I am questioning how many more chapters I should write. If you want this to continue then say for how long you'll be interested! Anyways, I'll start updating in about two weeks!

They arrived at the coordinates at three thirty pm. Being an hour early gave them time to investigate the location while also searching for Root. Shaw walked around on the street looking for the threat while John was sitting in a vacant apartment with a sniper rifle. As Shaw looked around the intersection she didn't find anything suspicious. Fifteen minutes before the designated time at four fifteen a black van pulled up to the corner and parked. At four twenty nine Shaw noticed that the men weren't terrorists and instead they were going to kidnap someone without worrying about other people getting hurt. Right before the men were going to get out of the vehicle a black car came speeding right into the back of the van.

~POI~

The two men in the front of the van emerged and Shaw started brawling with them. John sniped one of them men in the knee in order to aid Shaw. After Shaw knocks the other man out she checks the black car to find that the driver has fled. Shaw takes off after a woman walking down the street. The woman kept walking as Shaw got closer to her. Shaw could no longer see the woman but she continued to walk down the street in the direction the woman was heading. Root grabbed Shaw and pulled her into the alley. Root kissed Shaw smack-dab on the lips as she was overjoyed to see her. Shaw was stunned that it was actually Root and she was somehow alive.

"Root?!"

"Hello, sweetie!"

"I thought you were dead!"

"I almost was but The Machine didn't let that happen."

"How are you alive?" Shaw asked.

"The Machine was able to fake my death in order for me to escape alive."

"Why didn't you contact us and tell us you were alive?"

"The Machine wanted you all to believe I was dead, it pushed Harry to do the what needed to be done in order to destroy Samaritan."

"Well, Samaritan's gone."

"I know, but is everyone else okay?" Root inquired.

"Harold is with Grace, Fusco is still working at the precinct, and John is alive but he's not doing so well," Shaw explained.

"Shaw, are you okay? Did you find Root?" John asked over the earpiece.

"I'm fine. Root is right here with me."

Shaw brought Root to meet John at the SUV. They drove back to Shaw's apartment which was their new temporary base of operations. John and Shaw filled in Root about their missions since the last time they had seen her. Root in turn filled them in how The Machine faked her death by having Doctor Tillman falsify the paperwork. Her cochlear implant had to be removed in order to leave it in the coffin for Samaritan's operatives to track her down. She had since gotten a new implant and had been trying to track down Shaw even against The Machine's wishes.

~POI~

The Machine searched for a new base for the team along with an apartment for John. It found two new possible bases that the team could decide between. One was another library that Harold had bought many years earlier and the other was another abandoned subway station similar to their last base. The Machine had also found a new apartment for John and texted the addresses to the trio. After looking up the addresses and finding out what each location was they decided that they would look at them the next day. Root and Shaw helped John move into his new apartment. John's only possessions were weapons and suits along with a few other clothing items which made it amusingly easy to move his stuff.

~POI~

The next morning the trio went to the possible bases and looked around each one. They decided that they would use the subway one because it was more hidden and spacious. It was also still connected to old subway tunnels. They came up with a list of things they would need to buy which included a desk, computers, cabinets, chairs, and a bed for Bear.

They cleaned out the station by getting rid of spider webs and scrubbing the walls and floor. Then they went to Shaw's apartment and loaded up a majority of their weapons and brought them to the new subway bunker. Once they were done dumping off their weapons they headed to a furniture store to buy the furniture they needed. After buying and bringing the furniture to their base they started setting it up. When they were all done they looked around and realized the only thing missing was Harold. John wanted Harold back working with them more than anyone but he understood that Harold deserved to be with Grace.

~POI~


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Author's Note: From now on my chapters will not be one per day. I will most likely be able to update this every couple of days or once a week.**

As John was walking to the entrance to the subway base a payphone rang next to him. He glanced at it for a second and smirked. John smiled as he heard a new number coming from The Machine. When he arrived at the new base Shaw and Root were already there talking while waiting for him.

"We got a new number," John said as he smiled a little.

They found out that the new number was a cafe waitress named Phoebe Loxwell. After further research they found out that when she was eight years old her mom disappeared and was never seen again.

John left to track down Phoebe while Root did some more research. He found her working a shift at the cafe and everything seemed fine. Shaw broke into Phoebe's apartment to try to figure out the source of the threat. After going through every room she looked into a closet and found something completely unexpected. Phoebe had tons of photos, newspaper clippings, and other pieces of evidence related to her mom's disappearance. Among the pictures and articles of missing people was a picture of Brandon, the man that they had just saved from Decima.

~POI~

"I think that Phoebe stumbled onto something that is going to get her killed. It looks like her mom's disappearance is connected to multiple other disappearances."

"The only thing suspicious that I can find is that she recently purchased a firearm," Root replied.

"She probably wants to kill the person responsible for her mother's disappearance," Shaw assumed from the evidence.

After a day of following her around without any sign of a threat they started to think the threat had neutralized. However, that night John saw Phoebe's plan start to be put into action. Phoebe grabbed her gun out of her safe and loaded it. John followed Phoebe until she stopped at a dark alley behind a bar. A man matching one of the pictures in her closet exited the bar and walked down the alley.

"Do you know who I am?" Phoebe asked the man.

"Look, I didn't kill her! I... I can prove it!" the man said frantically.

"Why, did you kill all of those people?" Phoebe asked the man as she pointed the gun at him.

"I didn't. Let me get my phone and prove it to you," the man said as he started to panic.

The man got out his phone and dialed a phone number.

"It's time to tell her," the man said to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Marco, are you sure?" the woman on the other end of the phone asked.

"She won't stop until she knows the truth, and you are the one that should tell her."

Marco handed the phone to Phoebe while she started to lower her gun.

"Hello, Phoebe," the woman said over the phone.

"How do you know my name?" Phoebe asked suspiciously.

"Phoebe, I am your mother."

~POI~

"How…? But… she is dead!"

"No, Marco helped me disappear and start a new life."

"Why… would you leave us?" Phoebe asked.

"Some very bad people were after me and they would have killed me."

"What about the other missing people?" Phoebe questioned her mom.

"Marco's job is to make people appear dead so they can start a new life somewhere else."

As the team listened into the conversation in the alley below they discovered that Phoebe wasn't the only threat. There was a black van approaching the alley and John believed that they were going to kill or kidnap Phoebe and Marco. John ran into the alleyway to help them escape before the assailants arrived.

"Hurry, come with me! They are after you!" John shouted as he approached Phoebe and Marco.

They quickly followed him down a few blocks when another van sped up from behind them. Four men jumped out with two shooting at John and Phoebe while the other two grabbed Marco.

The team tried to track down the van but they couldn't find it. After searching for information about Marco and coming up with nothing they only had one way to find him. The team would need to work with Phoebe and use her research to figure out how he was able to disappear his customers and who assisted him.

~POI~


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Author's Note: I am sorry for not updating for a while. My life has gotten busy with stuff and I haven't got much time to write. I still read every single comment! All suggestions and comments are appreciated! Hopefully I will be able to return to weekly chapters but I unfortunately can't guarantee that.**

After searching through all of Phoebe's research they had found a few leads. One of the people that worked with Marco was named Carlos and he had a job at a hotel as the concierge. Carlos had a daughter in college named Maria. Shaw and Root went to the hotel to see if they could get any information from Carlos. When Carlos went to the bathroom Root quickly hacked his computer and saw that he had been marking rooms as occupied often with a generic name. After further investigation from bluejacking his phone they found out that he assisted Marco by getting people rooms at the hotel under false names. While Marco prepared a new identity for the person they stayed hidden at the hotel.

Carlos had noticed that Marco was gone and started calling other people and warning them. It seemed that there were numerous people working together to create fake identities and hide people. At the end of his shift Carlos left immediately but an SUV approached him. As the men grabbed Carlos and were throwing him in the SUV Shaw and Root came out of the alley and battled with the men. Shaw kicked one man in the knee while Root choked another. After Shaw threw two assailants to the ground she approached the front of the SUV. The passenger emerged and she shot him in the kneecaps while the driver started driving away. She shot inside of the car causing the airbags to go off and the SUV to crash across the street.

"What do you people want?" Carlos shrieked as he awakened in the safe house.

"We're here to help you," Root said while she checked security feeds to try and find where the SUV came from.

"I don't know anything! Don't kill me!" Carlos screamed.

"Can I just knock him out again?" Shaw asked in a monotone voice.

"Shaw stop it. Carlos we need to know as much about Marco as possible, he has been kidnapped."

"Why would I tell you people about Marco when you'll just kill me anyway?" Carlos asked angrily.

"We are trying to save him along with protecting you," explained John.

"We didn't kidnap you, remember we stopped those armed men from kidnapping you," Shaw pointed out.

"Well fine. Marco and I have been working together for over twenty years and we've assisted many people disappear including criminals and members of the mob."

"Why did my mom want to disappear?" Phoebe asked as she emerged from another room.

"She was in danger, some bad people were after her," Carlos replied as he evaded the question.

"Why were they after her?" Phoebe quickly asked.

"Your mom laundered money from the company that she worked at. However, she didn't know that the company was partially owned by a crime boss named Dante."

"What did she do with the money? It never ended up with my dad or me."

"She took it with her in order to keep you safe and she helped fund Marco's operations."

~POI~

Carlos revealed the location where Marco underwent his operations. John and Shaw arrived at Marco's car repair shop in order to gather more information. They broke in and went into Marco's office only to find that it had been ransacked. There wasn't much left to go through and it appeared that Marco had his files about the disappearances elsewhere. As Shaw headed into the garage of the shop she saw something unexpected. There were two men lying in pools of blood. Both men had been shot twice in the chest.

Right before they were about to leave John heard something from inside the garage. As they reentered the garage they discovered two men emerging from under the car lift. The men had pulled out boxes from beneath the lift and had them sitting on the floor. John and Shaw pulled their guns on the men and ordered them to drop their weapons. One man grabbed his gun but was quickly shot and killed by Shaw. The second man slid his gun across the floor towards John. The man was pulled out from under the lift by John. They tied him up to a chair and started to question him.

"Why are you after Marco?" Shaw yelled at the man.

"What do you want with these files?" Shaw shouted before she punched him in the stomach.

"Who do you work for?" Shaw asked, followed by another punch.

The man didn't answer any of Shaw's questions for over half an hour and he was looking pretty bad. The man started to answer Shaw as there was a loud bang outside of the shop. John went to investigate the noise. As Reese exited the shop he was hit in the back of the head and knocked out. The man in the chair started to answer Shaw by explaining "I'm just a thug trying to get information about Marco for-" the man stopped talking as he was shot in the head. Shaw ran out of the shop trying to catch the mysterious man but couldn't catch up to him.

~POI~


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **Author's Note: I finally got back to updating this story, surprise! In the spirit of Thanksgiving I am giving you all something to be thankful for: three new chapters! One today (Wednesday before Thanksgiving) and one tomorrow on Thanksgiving and one more on Black Friday! Keep posting comments as knowing that people read this pushes me to write more! Thanks for all the support for this story which has know reached more than 2,300 views.**

Out in the street Shaw pulled John to his feet before they headed back into the building. They grabbed the boxes of files that the men tried to steal. Once back at the safehouse the group started to go through the papers from inside the boxes. Carlos aided them in searching the documents for information about who kidnapped Marco. They sifted through the files for hours reviewing lots of information useless to them until they found the name of the person behind Marco's kidnapping. The name of Vic appeared in a few of Marco's notes that were scattered through the boxes. After further examination of the notes Root noticed that Vic had been after Marco for quite some time.

 _08/18/2013_

 _I had a run in with a few of Vic's goons today, my newest customer barely escaped alive. Some days I wonder how long I'll survive imposing on Vic's business operations. I've helped dozens of people but recently I've had a few of my associates disappear due to my work. This job has become increasingly harder especially with the rise of HR and Elias. Talk about the man in the suit has started to die down even though it is nice to think that there is a vigilante roaming around New York. The information that I've recently gathered on Vic is very important: the second in command is named Cole and they operate out of The Naval Saloon on West Street near the Hudson river._

"Let's go," John said as he got up and grabbed his gun.

~POI~

When John and Shaw arrived at the bar they headed right into the front entrance. The bar was furnished with some models of old ships while the walls were painted dark shades of gray. One man and woman sitting at the bar glared at John and Shaw. Another couple people sitting at some tables near the left wall glanced at them. One of the men behind the bar set down his towel and rushed into the back room to notify someone.

"Where's Vic?" John asked the bartender.

"None of your business," the woman sitting at the bar angrily replied.

John looked at the bartender for an answer but when he didn't answer John swung at him. Half a dozen people sitting at tables stood up and approached John and Shaw. John swung at one of them while two men grabbed him and dragged him towards the door. He kicked one of the men in the knee and punched the other in the gut. Two men neared Shaw and she pulled out her gun and shot them both in the kneecaps while John fought with two men near the door. A thug grabbed John around the neck, John elbowed him in the gut then turned and punched him in the face sending him through the bar window. Another thug got back up just to be kicked by John into some of the tables. The woman at the bar attacked Shaw knocking the gun out of her hand engaging them in hand to hand combat. John continued combatting two men while Shaw fought the woman.

~POI~

"What the hell is going on? Who the hell are you?" a man who had just exited the back room demanded.

The fighting ceased and the attackers backed away from John and Shaw.

"We are here to talk to Vic," Shaw stated as she picked up her gun and then pointed it at the man.

"What do you two want?" the man inquired.

"We want to speak to Vic about Marco," John stated in a calm manner.

The man was taken aback that the intruders knew about Marco but he collected himself and replied "I'm Cole, I work for Vic and you will not get to meet with my boss, get them out of here!"

The bartender raised a shotgun and aimed at John. John ducked to escape the shotgun shot as he tackled two of the goons. Shaw aimed her pistol at the bartender but before she could get a shot off she was attacked by the woman. Immediately after Cole returned to the back room shots rang out and Cole was forced back into the bar.

"Cocoa puffs told me that you two could use some help," Fusco interrupted as he points a gun at Cole's head. The fighting stops for a second time until the bartender aimed his shotgun at Fusco. John quickly attacked the bartender but Cole knocked Fusco to the ground. Cole escaped out the back entrance while everyone else was still fighting.

~POI~


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Author's Note: Sorry for posting this late, Happy Thanksgiving! Here is a second chapter for thanksgiving. As always please keep commenting on each chapter, even if I don't reply to them I still look forward to reading each comment. :D**

"Great, now we lost our lead!" Shaw exclaimed as she stood over multiple moaning thugs.

"Not necessarily, did you check the back room?" Fusco suggested as he started heading that way.

As they started looking over the desk, John spotted a cell phone abandoned in all of the chaos. John grabbed the phone and searched through the contacts and found Vic's number.

Seconds after John called Vic the phone call was answered, "Hello, and to whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking?" the scrambled voice on the other end of the phone said.

"I'm John but you should be more concerned with what happens when we find you."

"Ha ha, I would be concerned if I thought that you had any chance of finding me."

"What makes you so sure that we won't find you?" John confidently replied.

"Well for the time being I don't have anything you want," Vic calmly stated.

"You have Marco and we are going to get him back. No matter what the cost."

"Ha, you are really out of your game if you think we have Marco. Check the other room."

John motioned for Fusco and Shaw to check the other room. They opened the door to find Marco tied to a chair. He had been severely beaten and was covered in blood.

"Oh God, he's dead," Fusco said in horror upon seeing the brutal scene.

"You will pay for this, Vic."

"I doubt it, I'm not scared of the man in the suit. We've done our research on you, John."

The phone clicks as Vic hangs up on John leaving him unable to gain any further knowledge of Vic. After calling in the homicide of Marco, Fusco headed back to the precinct while John and Shaw went to go meet up with Root and their protectees.

~POI~

"Marco is dead! They are going to kill me too!" Carlos screamed hysterically.

"We will keep you safe," Shaw reassured Carlos.

"I can't stay here forever, oh no. My daughter, they will go after her!"

"I'll go get your daughter," Root said as she headed to the door.

"Thank you," said Carlos.

"What about my mother? Will she be safe? How will we find her?" Phoebe blurted out.

"I have no idea what Vic has found out about your mother but so far we have no new leads," John replied.

"We must have missed something when we were searching through the documents," suggested Phoebe.

They all search back through the documents, this time paying extremely close attention to documents mentioning Vic or Cole. The papers are scattered all over the room, on top of each table with similar documents stacked together.

"I found something!" Carlos exclaimed as he held up an envelope.

"What is it?" Phoebe inquired.

"It's an envelope with all the people we believed were fleeing because of Vic, we were trying to figure out what Vic's business entailed and how to evade attracting Vic's attention," Carlos explained.

Carlos opened the envelope and dumped out the numerous slips of paper that all had one name written on them. As they organized the slips Phoebe noticed that one of the names was her mother's.

"Carlos, do you remember my mother?"

"Who was your mother?" Carlos asked Phoebe.

"Her name was Patricia Loxwell and she had brown hair and green eyes and she was about five and a half feet tall."

"Oh yes. I vaguely remember helping her disappear but not enough to help. Her file should be around here somewhere."

They looked around for her file and found it under some other papers near a nightstand that was also filled with assorted papers. The file was thin but contained several pictures of Patricia along with the details of where they housed her while she was with them. In the middle of the file they found the details of her old identity as Patricia Loxwell. Behind all of this was the important information about her new identity along with where she went after she fled.

"Oh my gosh," Phoebe cheered "we can find here!"

"If we found her then Vic probably will too," John pointed out.

Phoebe and Carlos gaze upon John with hope that they will be able to protect her from Vic before it is too late. John reached for the information as he intended to go retrieve her immediately.

"Shaw, stay here and search for more information about Vic," John commanded as he headed for the door.

John drove straight north headed for New Rochelle which is where the new address was for Patricia. He was prepared for multiple threats upon his arrival or even worse the fact that Vic had already gotten her but to his surprise none of that happened. He approached the residence and knocked, a few seconds later a young man answered the door.

"Hello, is Patty Halliworth here?" John asked the man.

"Oh, Patty. No, she moved away several years ago. Why are you looking for her?" the man inquired.

"I need to speak with her, can you give me her new address or phone number?"

"I don't know her new address but here is her cell phone number."

"Thank you."

~POI~


	13. Chapter 13

****Chapter 13****

 **Author's Note: Sorry for posting this chapter late, I underestimated how long it would take to write and overestimated how much time I would have. I would like to hear if you guys like how I wrote this chapter or not or what you would like to see more of. Thank you and I hope you all have a great week and a terrific day!**

Root arrived at the college campus hoping to quickly find Maria. Dusk neared as many college students roamed the campus grounds.

"Directions, please," Root requests from The Machine as she stares at a security camera.

The Machine quickly scanned it's databases for information about Carlos' daughter Maria. Root was directed through the campus to Maria's dorm room where she luckily found Maria.

"Hello Maria, you need to come with me, you are in danger," informed Root.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Maria shrieked as Root barged in.

"I know your father but we need to go, it's not safe here."

"You work with my dad?" Maria asked as she started to trust Root.

"Sort of, can we get going?" Root asked impatiently.

Another girl entered the room from the hallway and stared at Root.

"Who are you?" asked the girl.

"Hey Ally, this woman says that she works with my dad," Maria explained to her roommate.

"What's going on outside?" Ally asked as she peered out the window to see numerous men in dark clothes all over the campus grounds.

"They're here," Root monotonously said as she stared out the window, she started communicating with The Machine "We need a way out."

~POI~

[Loading College Blueprints]

[Outlining All Possible Escape Routes]

[Calculating Fastest Paths]

[Loading Enemy Combatant Locations]

[Calculating Safest Path]

[Selecting Optimal Route]

"Get ready to move," The Machine told Root through her earpiece.

Root grabbed her gun and motioned for both of the girls to come with her.

"Right turn," The Machine directs Root out of the dorm room. "Left turn," The Machine leads Root and the girls away from one of Vic's goons entering the college. After they travel up a set of stairs The Machine directs them "straight ahead, at the end of the hall turn left."

The two girls stayed closely behind Root while various other students roamed the halls not knowing there were armed men inside the school. The Machine lead the group near the center of the campus in order to avoid the enemy targets trying to capture them. After they neared the center of the campus, The Machine then instructed them to go down some halls that would bring them to an unguarded exit.

"Right turn," The Machine ordered as they dodged down a small rarely used hallway while one of Vic's goons was nearing their location. They continued down the hall for about twenty paces before The Machine told them to "enter the room on your right."

Root opened the door to reveal a janitorial closet filled with cleaning products. They entered the room just before the man turned down the hallway. Ally was breathing heavily as the man walked steadily towards them. Root placed her hand over Ally's mouth to muffle the sound and evade the man's detection. As the man was a few steps away from the door he paused, instilling sheer terror in Ally causing her to step backwards into a rack of supplies.

The man drew his gun and opened the door, Root knocked the gun out of his hand and started brawling with him. She slammed him into the wall while he wrapped his arm around her neck. She kicked him in the knee with her high heel causing him to fall allowing him to reach his gun. He aimed at Root and fired into her side. She grabbed her gun and shot him twice in the chest.

The Machine continued directing them out of the campus while policemen were arriving to calls of shots fired. Most of the armed men attempted to flee after hearing the sirens approach the college, allowing Root and the two girls to easily exit the campus and make it back to Root's vehicle.

~POI~


End file.
